Interpreter Certification Guidance

Schools that provide
interpreting services to students who are deaf or hard of hearing must ensure
that interpreters hold appropriate certification from the Texas Board for Evaluation
of Interpreters (BEI) or the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
(RID). Interpreters who have a score of at least 4.0 on the Educational
Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) and meet the RID requirements for
certified membership may also be eligible to provide interpreting services (19
TAC §89.1131(d)).

Improving student
results is a top priority in the Texas state plan for students who are deaf or
hard of hearing. Interpreting services provided by qualified educational
interpreters can have a significant impact on improving student performance.

As admission, review,
and dismissal (ARD) committees consider individual education programs for
students who are deaf or hard of hearing, it is important to remember that
providing interpreting services to students in mainstream settings is only one
of many options that the ARD committee can address. The school must make a wide range of options available to students to ensure individual success. ARD committees must "consider the child's language and communication needs, opportunities for
direct communications with peers and professional personnel in the child's
language and communication mode including opportunities for direct instruction
in the child's language and communication mode" (34 C.F.R. §300.324(a)(2)) when making placement decisions.

Rules and Regulations

The following are rules and regulations about interpreting certification: